Horror movie icons have been appearing in video games for decades, with one of the earliest examples beingHalloweenon the Atari. Nowadays, fans are used to seeing horror movie villains in asymmetrical multiplayer games likeDead by DaylightandThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre, as well as fighting games likeMortal Kombat.RetroRealms Arcadeoffers horror movie fans something a little different, transforming iconic horror characters into side-scrolling versions of themselves as they complete platforming levels reminiscent of games from the SNES and Genesis era.RetroRealms Arcadeis a unique concept for sure, but it’s held back by a number of unfortunate choices.
RetroRealms Arcadeis essentially a hub for two distinct games. One is based onAsh vs. Evil Dead, the comedy horror series that aired on Starz from 2015 to 2018, and the other is inspired by theHalloweenfranchise. InAsh vs. Evil Dead, players take on the role ofhero Ash Williams, whileHalloweenfocuses on Michael Myers. Both characters are put into action by a demonic creature known as the Overlord, who steals the Necronomicon from Ash and strings Michael along with his sister’s gravestone.
The levels consist of fairly standard action-platforming fare, with players avoiding hazards, jumping over obstacles, and killing everything in sight. WhereRetroRealms Arcadediffers from some of its inspirations is that the characters have deeper move-sets than one might realize at first glance, with players able to further upgrade Ash and Michael at a store between levels.RetroRealms' upgrades make a huge difference as the games go on, so players are highly incentivized to explore every nook and cranny of each stage.
Besides currency,RetroRealms Arcadefeatures other collectibles for players to hunt down. Some of these are specific to each game, withAsh vs. Evil Deadstages requiring players to collectpages of the Necronomicon, andHalloweentasking players with collecting Jack-o'-Lanterns. Tickets are a universal collectible and also the most interesting on offer. With tickets, players can purchase memorabilia fromAsh vs. Evil DeadandHalloweenin a museum that exists in the back of the game’s overworld arcade.
Horror Buffs Will Want to Visit the RetroRealms Arcade Museum
WhileAsh vs. Evil DeadandHalloweenare16-bit-style action platformers, the titular arcade is presented as a 3D environment that players explore from a first-person perspective. The arcade has retro carpet and looks sufficiently creepy.Ash vs. Evil DeadandHalloweenare accessed through arcade cabinets on either side of the main hallway, mocked-up with snazzy artwork that replicates the look of real-life arcade cabinets. But while the actual games are the main draw, there are other interesting things for players to see in the arcade.
To the right of the entrance is a TV with a shelf full of VHS tapes that serve as the game’s bonus features section, and beyond the hallway with the cabinets is a room that gets filled with dioramas as players complete stages. The museum is the next room over, with players able to spend their tickets on cool collectibles like Michael’s Halloween costume from the night he murdered his sister at the beginning of the first movie. Horror buffs will have fun filling out the museum and seeing all the cool throwbacks. Between the tickets and the upgrades,RetroRealms Arcadedefinitely encourages players to replay levels and make sure that they have found everything there is to find.
It’s a good thing, too, because the game doesn’t offer that much content. It’s mostly fun while it lasts, but each game only has five worlds consisting of two levels each that can be completed in about an hour, maybe two or three for 100% completion. This isn’t that bad in and of itself, but the fact that each game costs $24.99 is enough to make even the most diehard horror fans immediately dismissRetroRealms Arcade.
RetroRealms Arcadeis short, but to its credit, it has some tricks up its sleeve to give its two games more replay value. It’s stuffed with achievements, with 74 to unlock in the Steam version, plus there are the aforementioned collectibles to hunt down. What offers the game the most replay value is the fact that players can mix and match characters. So, if someone decides to spend $50 and buy both games, they will be able to play through theAsh vs. Evil Deadlevels asHalloween’s Michael Myersand vice versa. The story plays out differently when players do this, but the boss fights and level design basically stay the same.
RetroRealms Arcade’s Mix-and-Match Concept is Interesting, But Also a Missed Opportunity
I like this idea, and it does add more replay value to what would otherwise be super short platforming experiences. But one massive missed opportunity here is that players can’t take their upgraded characters into the other games. So, after beating theAsh vs. Evil Deadcabinet and spending all that money upgrading Ash, players have to start from scratch if they want to take him intoHalloweenand fight the Overlord’s minionsin Haddonfield. This is really disappointing and keeps the upgrade system from reaching its full potential, especially since the games are so short.
IfRetroRealms' gameplay was extraordinary, I could almost forgive the value vs. price discrepancy, but what’s here is nothing groundbreaking. The levels are mostly fun, with a few challenging platforming sections and clever boss fights, but bothAsh vs. Evil DeadandHalloweensuffer from massivedifficulty spikesat the end. There are some cool ideas, like the ability to switch between the “real world” and the nightmare realm to reach otherwise inaccessible areas, but it’s all very basic.RetroRealmsgameplay is competent and can be entertaining, but it doesn’t do anything revolutionary to justify its high price point.
Unfortunately, theRetroRealms Arcadepricing structure gets even worse when taking the extra characters into account. I don’t have specific pricing information, but bonus characters likeHalloweenheroine Laurie Strode cost extra. For $49.99, players should be entitled to everything that theAsh vs. Evil DeadandHalloweenexperiences have to offer,especiallywhen one considers how short each game is. So, even thoughRetroRealms Arcadecan be a fun action platformer at timesand has amusing references for horror buffs, its pricing scheme makes it impossible to recommend.
WHERE TO PLAY
RetroRealms Arcadelaunches October 18 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant was provided with a Steam code for this review.
